Moonrise/Chapter 15
Chapter description :Shrieking erupts from the cave, slashing through the pattering rain, right through the waterfall's noises. Feathertail springs to her paws, her pelt rising, telling her to run far from the cave, but Stormfur being in danger holds her in place. Brambleclaw orders for them to follow, but Crowpaw protests against this. The cats stare at Brambleclaw, disbelieving of his statement, but he carries on anyways. The tabby tom bounds for the cave entrance, before stopping, swinging a look at his companions. He reminds them of Stormfur, and it being their only chance for him to escape. :Without waiting, Brambleclaw springs into action, running down the rocks for the path. Crowpaw mutters about him being crazy, but decides to follow anyway. Feathertail scrambles quickly after, paws sliding over the wet stones, claws scraping against them painfully. She tries desperately to stay on her paws, speeding along the ledge behind the waterfall, not thinking of slipping or falling, since time is running out. The screeches grow louder as the silver she-cat nears; terror floods through Feathertail, imagining Sharptooth turning Stormfur, her brother, into fresh-kill. :Feathertail reaches the cave, skidding inside, and halts behind Brambleclaw. For a moment, she isn't able to make anything out, for the moon is covered with clouds, providing no light. The massive sharp of Sharptooth appears to be everywhere, large paws pounding over the ground. The mountain cat jumps from wall to wall, blood splattering his flanks, with drool dripping from his jaws. Feathertail never imagined it to be this terrible, yet she knows her brother cannot challenge the monster and live. The Tribe cats scatter, rushing blindly from the sleeping hollows. :Feathertail, amidst the fray of frightened cats, catches a glimpse of Brook. The tabby she-cat is hustling a kit along, down into a tunnel, another in her teeth. Near another tunnel, a cave-guard clings onto Sharptooth's neck, but is easily thrown off, where it hits a wall. The cat slides down, and lays limp, blood trickling from its jaws. Feathertail stares in horror, and during this distraction, more Tribe cats rush past, not realizing who the Clan cats are, yowling. Brambleclaw orders his companions to head a certain direction, before looking at each cat, reminding them of Stormfur. :Sharptooth had made his way over to another wall, where he struggles to catch a cat, who cowers against a ledge just above. Skirting the cave walls, keeping close to the darkness, Brambleclaw leads the group towards a tunnel leading to the Cave of Pointed Stones. In the shadows, Feathertail stumbles past other cats, some of them injured, whilst others stood, frozen from fear. In the heat of the situation, none of the Tribe cats notice, for their scent is masked by the stench of blood and terror. :At the tunnel opening, stand two cave-guards, holding their position, fur on end, eyes wide. Feathertail feels a flash of respect for the two, for they're staying while others run for cover. Despite this, Brambleclaw and Crowpaw launch themselves at the cave-guards, slashing with their claws. Squirrelpaw is close behind, and soon, the silver tabby realizes one of the guards is Crag. She watches as Brambleclaw knocks him over, biting his neck fur, and Crowpaw cuffs the other, fighting him back. Squirrelpaw sinks her jaws into Crag's tail, and holds on. With the tunnel entrance now clear, Tawnypelt, a ShadowClan warrior accompanies Feathetail as they race down the tunnel. :Before reaching the cave, the RiverClan she-cat meets two other cats. The toms are barely visible in the blackness, but Feathertail recognizes Stormfur, and Stoneteller. She catches the gray tom's blazing eyes before he rushes past, charging up the tunnel, and into the outer cave. He yowls at Stormfur, declaring his time has come, but the captive cat only asks Feathertail what's happening. For a moment, the plumy-tailed she-cat wishes only to twine her tail with her brother, since she'd worried he was already sent to battle Sharptooth. Another thought was that Stormfur was one of the bodies laying in the cave, but Tawnypelt snaps at them. :She commands for them to not stop, and head for the entrance. The tortoiseshell she-cat runs down the tunnel, Feathertail and Stormfur hard on her paws. Once they reach it, a shriek, louder than thunder, greets them. A flash of lightning shows Sharptooth backing off for the entrance, gripping a cat with his powerful jaws; the Tribe cat is Star, which Feathertail realizes with horror. She was the kit-mother who first greeted them when she and her group arrived, and now the she-cat struggles to escape, jaw gaping in a yowl. Her paws scrabble at the ground, but then, darkness folds over Feathertail's vision, and she can only see Sharptooth faintly as he vanishes into the mountains. :For a heartbeat, silence fills her ears, before a wail of loss rises. Then, a cat nudges her, quite rough, and the silver tabby spins to see Brambleclaw, who orders her out. The brown tom runs for the entrance, Tawnypelt and Squirrelpaw swiftly following, and Crowpaw nudges Feathertail on. As they escape, no Tribe cats try to stop them, too gripped by terror to move. They crouch low to the stone ground, eyes glazed, fur bristling. At the cave opening, Brambleclaw halts, sniffing the air, then leads the way along a path. Feathertail detects Sharptooth's scent, the reek of blood, and Star's fear-scent, all mixed together; the huge cat had gone, carrying the Tribe cat with him, leaving many more dead or wounded. :Rain falls steadily now, gusted by wind, with thunder rolling overhead. Feathertail's pelt is soaked within moments, her silver fur plastered to her sides, but she doesn't notice. She follows Brambleclaw as he leads them back to where they were, with the heart-broken wailing from the Tribe dying down behind. The noise is drowned out by the rain, and the endless roar of the fierce waterfall. Characters Major }} Minor *Crowpaw *Unnamed cave-guard *Unnamed Tribe cats *Sharptooth *Crag *Squirrelpaw *Tawnypelt *Stoneteller *Stormfur *Star }} Notes and references de:Mondschein/Kapitel 15 Category:Chapter subpages Category:Moonrise Category:The New Prophecy arc